The Hollow Republicans

This article from Veronique de Ruy pinpoints Bush's greatest failure and the betrayal of the GOP party by the Republican leadership cadre.

from Reasononline

Some people still seem to think Republicans take a hands-off approach
to regulation, probably because the party is always quick to criticize
the burdens regulations place on businesses. But Republican rhetoric
doesn't always match Republican policy. In 2007, according to Wayne
Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, roughly 50 regulatory
agencies issued 3,595 final rules, ranging from boosting fuel economy
standards for light trucks to continuing a ban on bringing torch
lighters into airplane cabins. Five departments (Commerce, Agriculture,
Homeland Security, Treasury, and the Environmental Protection Agency)
accounted for 45 percent of the new regulations.  read more

The Bush team has cleared the field for enormous spending by the new admisnistration. The abdication of responsibility for fiscal restraint and advocacy of small government has destroyed the credibility of the party. The one faintly positive consequence is Obama faced with all the pressure any president feels also carries the unfair burden of "proving" his race to be up to the job. Thus the Obama administration may have to act as the responsible oposition to the Democratic Congress. I didn't vote for the President Elect but I fervently hope he is a great president but he is going to need to be.